Demetria Malfoy: The Girl Who Lived
by Sylvia Kathryn
Summary: Demetria Malfoy, Draco's HalfBlood cousin has just transfered from Durmstrang. This is about what happened during her first year at Hogwarts.I may be making major changes soon, but if you have any suggestions, please send them to me? Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

August 7, 1995

"Where is the girl?" the cold, cruel voice of the man everyone feared demanded.

"Please, Master? No, please; anyone but her!" his most loyal ally begged.

"Tell me where she is! She must be destroyed. I do not wish to harm you, now step aside!"

"No, I will not." he said resolutely, though his pale, sweating complexion didn't make his pleas too convincing.

"You dare defy me, you fool? Have you no mind?"

"I have mind aplenty, my Lord; but I cannot allow harm to come to my only child! Please spare her, that is all I ask, I'll do anything."

"If you will not tell me where she is, then I shall find her myself, Incarcerous!" the Dark One exclaimed, binding the pale young blond man by his hands and feet, barely missing the sharp corner of an expensive marble table as he fell to the ground. "Get him out of my sight! Now!!!"

"Y... Yes master..." a nervous Death Eater said nearby, "Hey! You with the hair, little help please?" and another hooded figure sprinted over to help carry the man outside.

"Well what are all of you waiting for? Help me find the girl!" he exclaimed, and started up the stairs while his followers scattered in other directions of the large home.

In the room at the end of the hallway a young redhaired child awoke from all the commotion. She lifted her tiny head and blinked her large green eyes, looking for the source of the noise. She looked down at her pillow and sticking out from under it was the handle of her father's magic stick, almost instinctively the girl took it in her tiny hand and started waving it, giggling as a stream of pink sparks flew out, startling her dog who began barking and trying to attack the stick.

"No doggie, no fetch tonight. This is fun!" she exclaimed as the stick caused some of her doll toys to crash to the floor.

The Dark One jumped as he heard spontaneous barking coming from the end of the hall, "This way..." he said to himself, "Alohamora!" he exclaimed and the door burst open, causing the girl to scream in fright.

"There you are, my darling Demetria." he hissed, "but I fear this must be our last hello, may you rest in peace, child... Avada Kedavr..."

"Expecto Patronum!!!" the girl shouted, knocking him off his feet.

"What the??" he said, and looked up to see a red Japanese dragon looming over him. The Dragon, was too small to be real and too opaque to be a hallucination. It growled threateningly and the Dark One himself crawled backward out of the bedroom and ran until he was on the well trimmed lawn of the Malfoy residence; his scarlet eyes wide with fear and disbelief, his body trembling as he struggled to regain his composure.

"Master?" a concerned Death Eater asked, "Are you???"

"No, I am not afraid, Snape! Darklord Voldemort fears nothing! Let's get out of here, she's not worth the trouble."

"But you said..."

"Silence! Now let us leave before we are discovered." and they dissappearated with two consecutive cracks which echoed down the empty street. The only evidence that anything had happened that evening was a small scar, burned into the shoulder blade of the brave young redhaired girl, who was now sleeping soundly, her dog by her side and her father's magic stick resting in the crook of her arm. A stick that makes sparks and dragons was way cooler than any teddy bear, so she hugged it and slept until her daddy came home to to hug her and show her even more fun wand tricks the next day.


	2. Chapter 2

Twelve years later...

Severus Snape was lying awake in his bed, contemplating the images of the night before. The mark on his arm was burning and he'd been having the same dream for several weeks; he was standing in a small torchlit chamber, staring into the face of a monster with red eyes and pale flesh. It was barely recognizable as human, but he knew exactly who it was, or who it used to be... Though he was trembling with fear, still he remained, staring the creature down like a dog. It raised it's wand, but before it could finish an incantation, a flash of green light had shot from his own wand and the creature fell, but did not die.

He was surprised by this, but still he kept fighting, like a fierce Samari. The creature attacked him several times, but he evaded them all. He had to do something, it was either fight or die, and he didn't plan to settle for the latter. The battle waged for what seemed like ages, and neither dualist was going to surrender, it would be a fight to the death against a seemingly immortal foe.

In most of the dreams, the creature finally hit it's mark, and Severus Snape felt himself die; he imagined it would be excruciatingly slow and painful, like all his organs and sinews were being ripped from his flesh at once, and his body burning white hot from the inside out, until there was only sweet blissful darkness...

But in a few of the dreams, he became victorious; Snape hit the creature with some unknown curse, while at the same time a curse from the other side of the room hit the creature, and it died the exact way Severus had imagined he'd die. He desperately wanted to know where the curse came from, but for some reason he always awoke before he could find the other dualist...

_What did it all mean?_ He thought. For a moment, Snape considered asking Trelawney about it, but she would probably call him mad, everyone was just _so _convinced that Potter was the one who had to kill the creature. Ironic, she always insisted her students keep an open mind, yet hers was closed to anything that might prove her wrong, strange how such things tend to occur, isn't it?

"Where is Professor Snape? He should have been here by now!" Minerva McGonagall said to no one in particular.

"Can't we start the meeting without him? All he ever does is complain anyway." Gilderoy Lockhart commented.

"Professor Lockhart, you make a good point but he must be here for this. It is likely she will be sorted into his house, and I think it only fair that we give him advanced warning." Dumbledore meant the last as a joke, but the rest of them didn't seem to find it too funny.

"Headmaster, this is no laughing matter!" McGonagall scorned, "She nearly killed one of her professors, if you remember! I don't think we should let her come to Hogwarts; she is too dangerous, Albus."

"I understand your concern, Minerva; but we have to be sensible! True, she did almost kill a man, but I'm sure there was a reason. She's not all that dangerous, the girl just needs a bit of guidance." Dumbledore responded.

"Yes, a bit of guidance and a swift kick in the keaster!" McGonagall was actually yelling now, "Don't you remember what happened the last time you allowed a criminal to attend Hogwarts? And need I remind you, he hadn't even tried to kill anyone at the time? Now just look at all he's done!"

"All the more reason Severus should be here! He can provide the necessary discipline and he would be able to keep her out of trouble. He could act as a sort of mentor you might say." Dumbledore stated.

"Ha," Lockhart said under his breath, "Severus, a mentor? Right..."

"Did you have something to add, Gilderoy?" Dumbledore asked skeptically.

"Well, if you're concerned she'll turn out like Riddle, I don't think a former Death Eater would be the wisest choice. A person like me, on the other hand..." Lockhart boasted.

"...Would likely become her next victim. Of course, that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing." Snape finished, a threatening smirk upon his thin lips.

"So you've decided to join us after all, have you my friend?" Lockhart said sweetly.

"I am not your friend, Lockhart." Snape said firmly, then looked to Dumbledore, "I do apologize for my tardiness, Headmaster. I've been having some troublesome visions lately, however I am quite sure they are insignificant," _as everything about me is anymore! _he thought to himself, "But I do assure you, it will not happen again." Snape finished respectfully.

"Perfectly understandable. The meeting doesn't officially begin for another few minutes anyway, you're actually quite early Severus." Dumbledore confirmed, giving a disappointed look to the rest of the staff.

"So, why does she need a mentor, anyway?" Lockhart asked, "You never gave Potter a mentor, what's so different about her?"

"Professor Lockhart, I do not expect you to understand this, but Harry has had a mentor ever since the night it happened." Dumbledore was suddenly very saddened, but wiped his eyes and got over it quickly, "However, she does not; the girl may as well be an orphan for all her father has done to raise her. Nobody's ever cared that much about her, which is likely the reason she seems so violent. Though I have confidence that she can be reformed if someone will just give her a chance."

"But I still don't understand why it has to be _him?_" Lockhart said, pointing his thumb at Snape.

"I have my reasons, Gilderoy." Dumbledore responded, "I would trust him with my life, and now I trust him with hers. I feel that the girl can be a great asset to this school, all she needs is a little discipline. I just happen to believe Severus is the right man for the job. You may leave now, I have said all that is necessary at the moment, good evening." Then Dumbledore quietly left the staffroom, the rest followed.

Snape was at the back of the line, thinking about his recent string of nightmares. He usually didn't even remember his dreams, but this one seemed very significant. Was it a foreshadowing of some kind, and why was he fighting Voldemort? Oh, he wasn't complaining, of course- it was just odd, that's all; Snape wanted the Dark Lord dead as much as the next man, but Trelawney's prophesies stated it was Potter who had to kill him. Snape never held much faith in that nonsense anyway, but he had on occasion made a prediction or two that seemed to come true, though he'd always assumed it was just some self-fulfilling prophesy he'd invented:

_"...The human psyche, be it wizard or non-wizard, often has a tendency to want to prove itself ; we are egocentric by nature. Thus the self-fulfilling prophesy: if one believes something strongly enough, it will become their reality..." _Snape remembered, and in fact had thrived on the quote; it was empowering, though these dreams just didn't make sense in that context. It was nearly driving him insane and he hated to ask for help, but he had to figure out what they meant so he could sleep soundly once again.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, may I speak with you, if its not too inconvenient of course?" Snape said once the rest of the staff had cleared the corridor.

"Certainly you can Severus, what is on your mind, my friend?" Dumbledore said brightly.

Snape tilted his head in thought for a moment, "I was just thinking of these visions, these strange dreams I've experienced lately; It sounds ridiculous, I know, but could you tell me something of them?" he said quickly, barely recognizing the voice as his own.

"I thought you said they were insignificant, Professor Snape?" Dumbledore answered, Snape's pale face suddenly reddened by about half a shade, but only for a moment .

"Yes, I did say that, but I do not believe the statement is completely correct."

Dumbledore's vulture-blue eyes opened wide behind their trademark lenses, "Oh, I see." He responded, "Sherbet Lemon!" he said to a statue of a golden griffin at the end of the hallway. It turned around to reveal a large door which led to Dumbledore's office, "Come, perhaps we can discuss this in greater detail while we are alone, occasionally these walls have ears." Dumbledore explained, and Snape cautiously followed him into the room.

"Have a seat Professor. We're all friends here, there is nothing to worry about." Dumbledore smiled, still Snape remained as he always was, an ever-present frown upon his face.

"I do apologize, Headmaster," he said, as he sat in a chair on the opposite side of the room, "I feel like such a child coming to you this way."

"Don't. After all, you must have thought it was quite important, else you wouldn't have said anything to me. Now, about the dreams, what happens in them?"

"I am in a dimly lit room and I'm fighting a pale creature with red eyes." Snape started, his voice almost childlike and his hands more clammy and pale than usual, "It tried to attack me, then I used the killing curse, but it did not die. I'm very frightened at this point but I know I must fight on despite the fact that I cannot win. In most of the dreams, it completely destroys me. In others I defeat the creature though victory is not mine alone; there is another one. I cannot see them, but I can see the light from their wand. It's all very strange, we are perfectly synchronized; our curses hit the creature simultaneously and it dies on contact.

I know that the Dark Lord would not be so easy to defeat, but the fight is not what troubles me, it has more to do with the other dualist. I can't seem to stop thinking about them; I want to find out who is on the other side. It almost feels like my very life depends on knowing who they are, I just don't understand, I've never felt that way before."

"How do you know it's Voldemort you're fighting?" Dumbledore asked.

Snape looked up, his dark eyes staring straight into Dumbledore's, "What do you mean? Who else would I be fighting?"

"Perhaps it's not a person you're fighting, but an idea." Dumbledore said, Snape just stood up and looked at him like he was mad.

"I'm sorry to have wasted your time, Dumbledore." he said ominously, "I should have known better than to ask you about this. Apparently you don't know as much as you think you do, goodnight." Then Snape left without another word, slamming the doors behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

The Half-Blood Malfoy

"Draco, Come now, it's time to get up for school!" Narcissa Malfoy sang pleasantly.

"But mother, I don't want to get up yet. Please just another few minutes?" Draco begged sleepily.

"But darling, you said that thirty minutes ago, please get up! You'll miss your train, it leaves in four hours, and you know how long it takes for you to do your hair. Oh Draco, you've not even packed your suitcases yet. Come on, please get up, for me?" She said in a pitiful tone.

"Fine, did that stupid little elf come back yet?" he said.

"Yes he has, and he's made you some of that special cocoa you like!"

"Has he been punished yet?" Draco said evilly.

"No, I'm saving that pleasure for your father when he gets home, but I think he gave himself a concussion this morning, that should do until then. Now get up before your cousin eats all the pancakes."

"My cousin, which one?" He asked tiredly.

"It's a surprise, but if you come downstairs you'll find out!" Narcissa said cheerfully, then left him alone.

When his mother was gone, Draco finally got out of bed and changed into some day clothes. Then he walked down the stairs, too exhausted to comb his hair first and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes; though when he looked up, he did not like what he saw.

There, in the kitchen, right before him, sitting in his favorite chair, eating his favorite breakfast, and drinking his mother's coffee from _his_ favorite mug, was an attractive young witch with bottle-green eyes, long mahogany hair and fair beige skin; his least favorite cousin of all, _Demetria Malfoy._

"What in the name of the Dark Lord is she doing here!" he shouted hatefully.

"Oh, didn't we tell you, she's going to start at Hogwarts this year! Isn't that wonderful, Draco?" His always perky mother exclaimed excitedly.

He looked at the scene through narrowed eyes, "Get her out of this house right now, or I'll make her get out!" he shouted angrily.

"Draco, please? She's not all that bad, just give her a chance!" Narcissa said kindly.

"Forget it! I will not share my house with a stupid little blood traitor like her!"

"What did you just call me?" Demetria snapped, "Why don't you come a bit closer and say it to my face, you little coward!"

"Never call me coward!" Draco spat with a murderous look in his eyes.

"Draco, I'm sure she didn't mean it. She won't be staying for very long. Can't you just try to be kind to her while she's here?"

"Be _kind _to her? I'd rather eat flobberworms!" he said in response.

"You know, Draco. _That can be arranged..."_ Demetria threatened him with a glare comparable to how an angry teacher might look at a problem student.

"Please, children! We're burning daylight, won't you stop teasing each other and eat breakfast?" Narcissa purred. The two combatants looked over at her, she sounded like she was going to cry, so they almost surrendered.

"Fine, but I'm not going to sit with her, she might mistake me for a sausage!" Draco sneered.

"Well, I don't want to sit with you, either. You smell like vomit."

"Well I think you're a retarded mudblood tramp!" Draco said.

"What did you just say to me, little boy?" Demetria stood before him.

"Shut up, you heard me, you halfbreed!"

"How dare you!" she said, drawing her wand from her pocket.

"Draco, Demetria, please stop arguing!" Narcissa whined, but neither one heard her.

He drew his wand, "You must have a lot of nerve, Demetria! You come into my house, call me coward, and think you can start giving me orders? I should kill you where you stand!"

"You're not mean enough, Draco! _You little coward..."_

"I told you, never call me coward!" and he lifted his wand, as if he were going to attack, but his mother got between the two of them, "Stop it right now, the both of you, or I will make you stop, understand?"

"What? The halfbreed's the one who started it!" Draco announced, "Make her stop talking to me like that, and I might spare her!"

"Demetria, leave Draco alone, please?"

"Fine, but if he says one more cross word to me..."

"You will do nothing." Narcissa said, calmly but firmly, "Now come and sit down."

"Yes, Aunt Narcissa." Demetria said exhaustedly, and did as she had been asked, Draco followed.

"_Someday, I am going to kill you."_ Draco murmured as he took a seat at the table.

_"Not if I kill you first!" _she responded, but Draco just rolled his eyes and looked away.

After breakfast, Draco quickly returned to his room to finish getting ready and packing while Demetria waited on the sofa with his mother. A few minutes later Draco came down the stairs, followed by Dobby the house elf who was carrying his luggage like a mule.

"Can we leave now?" she said impatiently.

"Yes, as soon as our driver pulls the limo around. Hopefully this rain will slack up by then, I'd hate my handsome Draco to be all wet when he sees his cute little friends again!" Narcissa said, pinching the boy's cheeks. Demetria couldn't help but laugh, and she laughed even louder when he looked at her like she was a dog that just messed on his lawn.

"Where is your stuff, Demetria?" Narcissa asked.

"Already in the back of the car, your driver helped me load it up this morning when I got here. _If only Draco had thought to plan so far ahead..._" she couldn't help commenting. Draco gave her a nasty look, then went out on the porch, the car had arrived and the entire trunk was so full that it wouldn't close properly.

"Where am I supposed to put my luggage, you mudblood freak?" Draco asked.

"You could carry it in your lap like the dog that you are, unless you're afraid it might bite you."

"How many times have I told you I'm not a coward!" Draco shouted, luckily his wand was already packed or he might have killed her for that.

"But you admit to the dog part, right?" she said silkily.

"Dammit Demetria!" and he reached over and tried to choke her, "Ouch! What the hell?" he said, looking at his hands which felt like they'd been burnt when he touched her, "Are you like a demon or something?"

"No, but you probably are," she responded, "and I can do a lot worse than that if you continue to provoke me."

"Children, settle down now, you won't want to act that way in school, will you?" Narcissa said gently.

_"Just you wait, Demetria! I'll get you back for this..._" Draco whispered when his mom wasn't looking.

_"I'd like to see you try, oh Tiny One!" _ she hissed wickedly.

Draco didn't respond, he just gave her a dirty look then started watching the storm outside. There wasn't another word the entire trip, they just sat back and ignored each other for the next hour and a half. The Malfoys were among the first to arrive at King's Cross, and the conductor allowed them to board the train early due to the rain and hail at Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

It was almost dark when the train arrived at it's terminal, they were greeted only by sheet lightning in the distance and a few lanterns scattered about. Snape had been waiting there for the train almost all day; he was to find the girl and escort her to the castle, but he didn't even know what she looked like! Of course, the fool Dumbledore told him "he'd recognize her when he saw her," but so far he didn't recognize anyone except the students from last year and the children of a few former associates of his. How was he supposed to recognize someone he'd never seen before? It was official, Dumbledore had lost it alright; in fact it's probably been gone for years, he just hid it well.

Snape walked among the crowd for a while, looking for anything that might suggest the presence of the girl 'he would recognize when he saw her,' but wasn't having any luck. He figured there must be something odd or abnormal about her if a total stranger would recognize her, but everything looked completely normal, until a prolonged lightning strike showed him something very odd indeed; it was Draco Malfoy, standing next to the train and arguing with a tall red-haired girl. Snape didn't recognize her but he did notice she looked far too mature to be a first year.

"How dare you speak to me like that, you halfblooded little winch!" Draco shouted, reaching for his wand, but she was too quick for him, and hers was pointed at the boy's neck before he had time to take another breath.

Draco looked down at her wand, then met her eyes again, "Well, I see you are skilled far beyond what I had expected." he said calmly, they were now surrounded by a large crowd of Slytherins who had gathered to see what would happen next.

_"Oh, you have yet to see my true talent, Draco." _ Demetria whispered, "You know, they teach an awful lot of useful things at Durmstrang, would you like if I were to demonstrate a few of them on you for all of your little friends? I'm sure they would find them, _fascinating..."_

Draco gulped and felt the tip of her wand pressed against his throat. He was nearly gasping for air, but somehow managed to choke a few words out, "Demetria, _please? _I'm sorry for doubting you!"

"Well it's too late now, isn't it? No Crabbe or Goyle around to protect you? I don't know if you've noticed Draco, but you're not as popular as you think you are. Look around rich boy, what do you see?" Draco just stared at his cousin, there was something ravenous about her now and he knew it was time to just shut up and surrender.

"No comment? Too horrible to face, is it? Look at them, they're loving this, they like to watch you squirm almost as much as I do; they hate you, and so do I. Do you know what I do to people I hate who can't keep their mouths shut?" Demetria said threateningly.

"Look, I'm sorry, I'll do whatever you want, just please don't hurt me?" Draco pleaded.

The Slytherins looked as if they'd all been frozen where they stood, none had ever seen Draco beg like that before and they were astounded by this exotic beauty, so willing to threaten one who looked as if he were of her own flesh and blood, _they had to get to know this girl..._

Demetria grinned at him triumphantly, "Whatever I want, Draco? Oh, there's just one thing I want from the likes of you, do you know what that is?"

"Anything, anything. Whatever, just tell me what it is, and please get that thing away from me?"

Demetria finally lowered her wand, but did not put it away, "Fine, but from this point on, I want you to treat me as I wish to be treated, the way a cousin should be treated, as an equal. Not as some kind of mud-blooded scum that just happened to show up on your doorstep, do you understand me?" she said coolly.

"Yes, I understand!" he responded. Draco knew that would probably make him into a laughing stock, but he thought his life was a bit more valuable than his popularity at the moment.

"See, isn't that better?" she purred, _"Now get the hell out of my face before I change my mind!"_ Demetria spat, and Draco and his friends ran in the other direction, leaving her alone by the train.

Demetria stood smugly against a tree bordering the tracks as she watched them run in the other direction, then she blew off the end of her wand like a gun, pocketed it, and started following the rest of the students toward the castle. Snape had been waiting in the shadows and grabbed her arm just as she passed in front of him.

"Hey, what the hell's your problem!" she said, almost drawing her wand, but stopped dead when she looked up at him; he was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen...

"Demetria Malfoy, I presume?" he said irately.

"Yeah, that's right cutie, and who might you be?" she said silkily.

"I am Professor Severus Snape, and you are coming with me!" Snape growled, "And never call me 'cutie' again if you do not wish to suffer a most unpleasant death!" he said as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her alongside him like a horse.

"Hey, you don't have to be so rough, I'd gladly follow you anywhere..." she said in what she thought was a rather sultry tone.

Snape looked down at her for a moment, then rolled his eyes, "Fine, but keep up with me and don't even think of wandering off! The headmaster wants to see you immediately and don't touch me!" he shouted.

Demetria gave him an arrogant look, then folded her arms and watched her feet the rest of the way to the castle.

Snape led her down a steep hillside and up the stairs to what looked like a very dingy entryway, where they were met by Albus Dumbledore. Demetria thought he was the strangest looking person she'd ever seen, in his violet robes all covered with stars and a long white beard that trailed past his waist. He perhaps looked like Saint Nick, provided he'd been on a starvation diet for about a year.

"Is this the little delinquent you sent me after, Headmaster?" Snape said in an annoyed tone, shoving Demetria toward him.

"Let's see: she's tall, she has the long red hair and the crystal green eyes alright, was she picking on another student when you found her?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact that is how I found her; she was threatening him and she had her wand at his throat, I believe it was Draco Malfoy." he gave her a disapproving glare, but there was a different emotion portrayed in his voice; was he actually proud of her for bullying Draco?

"Hmm," even Dumbledore seemed a bit surprised by that, apparently Draco had been considered quite formidable by those at Hogwarts, "Well, we had better get her to the Great Hall, wouldn't want her to miss the Sorting." and Dumbledore led her inside, Snape followed.

"So, why did you bring me here?" Demetria asked a while later, "Why couldn't I just enter with everyone else?"

"That we shall discuss after the Sorting, I do not want it to effect the Hat's decision." Dumbledore answered simply. Snape rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath, extracting a shy giggle from Demetria, but Dumbledore ignored them and walked on.

When they got to the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall had already started the sorting. Demetria was standing with the remaining first years and could feel herself dying of boredom by the time her name was called.

"...And last but not least, I am proud to introduce a brilliant fifth-year who has chosen to leave her own Durmstrang academy and join us here at Hogwarts; Now I ask that you please give a warm welcome to the beautiful and talented Miss Demetria Malfoy."

Most of the school, especially the Slytherins, applauded her and Snape was watching very closely as Demetria took her position in the chair. She was the center of all attention as McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat upon her head;

"H mm, interesting, very interesting." the Hat observed, "There is an extraordinary interest in the dark arts, and she has had very few friends, I see. She is highly intelligent and remarkably ambitious, and I see that she's incredibly talented in many of the magical arts, already. She's brave, very brave I think, in fact, I see no known fears anywhere in her, and she is willing to work very hard to get what she wants..."

"Let me see, she's a hard one to place, but I think I am going to go with... Slytherin!!!"

"Slytherin it is!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed to the shouts of roaring cheers from the Slytherin table, they must have thought it a great honor to be able to call yet another member of the venerable Malfoy clan one of their own.

Then, after another mind-numbing speech by Dumbledore, they all took their seats. Demetria intentionally chose a seat far away from Draco and within eyeshot of Snape; for some reason she just wanted to look at him forever. She had been entranced by his deep, dark eyes and shining locks of jet-black hair for several minutes before he noticed her staring; then she decided it would be best to eat her dinner and get the hell out of there as soon as possible.


	4. Chapter 4

Destiny Repeats Itself

Demetria had barely swallowed her last bit of pumpkin tart when she felt a looming presence over her shoulder, she looked up and saw Snape behind her with a determined look on his face, "Demetria, come with me, please." he ordered.

"Okay, where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see. Now come, we haven't all night." Snape said impatiently. Demetria stood up and followed him, she was quite nervous, but she had a feeling he wasn't planning to hurt her or he would have been more forceful.

He led her down a long, dark corridor to a griffin statue at the end of the hallway, "Sherbet Lemon," he said flatly, and the statue turned to open the door to Dumbledore's office. Snape directed her to a chair in front of an untidy desk littered with all manner of strange devices, "Sit, the headmaster will be with us shortly." Snape said, though he was still standing behind her like a dark sentinel, as if he expected an attack any moment. Why was he so protective of her?

A few moments later, Dumbledore joined them. The old wizard had a strange way of moving, almost gracefully, as he walked behind his desk and sat down. For several moments, he just sat staring at her, his fingers braced under his long nose which looked like it had been broken at least three times, neither of which healed back correctly. His eyes were a sad, watery blue behind half-moon spectacles, he looked quite how she might have imagined her grandfather, except his eyes would have been green instead of blue and he probably had a skin tone like that of a gypsy, though she'd never met him.

"You look so much like your father, Demetria." he began, "Though I believe you have your mother's coloring."

"Yeah, thanks. Why am I here?" she said, trying to hide her irritation, though she was unsuccessful.

"Demetria, in the wizarding world there are a lot of legends that tend to come true, the unicorn for example." Dumbledore continued.

"Yeah, I know. Look, is there a point to this?" Demetria snapped, but Snape calmed her with merely a glance from those dark, beautiful eyes.

"One such legend is of a great evil force, in his time he was known as the Darklord of War, among other things..."

Snape coughed and it seemed to be disguising the name "Voldemort."

"Thank you, Severus." Dumbledore scorned, Demetria giggled softly and Snape almost grinned at her, but Dumbledore continued as if nothing happened, "You see, Tom Riddle thought that Lord Voldemort was original, he didn't realize the phrase had been burned into his memory from the time he was very young. Unfortunately, I believe Tom Marvolo Riddle was destined for the fate he has chosen himself."

"Yeah, that's great, but what does that have to do with me?" Demetria said irately.

"Do you have a small lightning-bolt shaped scar on you anywhere?" Snape asked her curiously.

"Yes, it's just below my left shoulder, but I don't remember where I got it." Demetria responded.

"Demetria, that kind of mark only appears when one is hit by very dark magic. Your scar is the result of the Dark Lord's attempt to kill you, but it didn't work." Snape grinned, "You see, _Harry Potter_ is not the only child who survived, so did you, Demetria." he was almost smiling at this point.

"However," Dumbledore interjected loudly, "that does _not_ trivialize Harry's significance." he looked at Snape, who had an expression like a dog had just stolen his ice cream cone, "It merely indicates that he is not the only one; you are as well, Demetria; and we have reason to believe there may be others who have survived the killing curse."

"We also have reason to believe that you and _Potter,_" Snape said the last as if it were a disgusting bit of gristle he was spitting into a napkin, "may be in danger. That is why the both of you were escorted to the castle this evening; Dumbledore thinks the Dark Lord may have a servant within Hogwarts whose intention it is to hurt you." he finished skeptically.

"Evil can take many forms, Severus." Dumbledore pointed out, "The Protection Spells only prevent Voldemort from entering Hogwarts, there are no spells to eliminate him once he is within it's walls."

"Yeah, but why me? Why did he try to kill us? How did we survive?" Demetria demanded angrily.

"If you must know, _Potter _only survived because his dear old _Mommy_ stepped into the path of the curse. However _you _my dear were saved by your very own Patronus," Snape gloated for her, "my, my, a mere three year old girl conjuring a full patronus, I do believe you may be destined for great things, Miss Malfoy." he said almost sensually.

Dumbledore gave a somewhat warning glance in Snape's direction, then turned back to Demetria, "Demetria, I have assigned Professor Snape as your mentor and guardian for the rest of your time here at Hogwarts. I trust you will respect him as such?"

Demetria turned her head and looked up at Snape, "Sure, I'd love to..." she said flirtatiously, but Snape just folded his arms and looked away from the girl.

"Isn't it time we sent her to her dorm room, Headmaster?" Snape said in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, yes of course. I nearly forgot, why don't you go on and see her to the Slytherin common room? She will need plenty of rest, 'twill be a busy day tomorrow for our little Demetria Malfoy." Dumbledore said brightly. Demetria rolled her eyes and got out of her chair, "Alright fine, let's just go." she said irately and followed Snape out of the room.


End file.
